


Counting (On You)

by DivinusQualia



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Car Accidents, Complete, Daddy!Derek, Gen, Kid Fic, M/M, Slow Build, Tragedy, accountant!Erica, accountant!Stiles, computer programmer!Danny, firefighter!Boyd, firefighter!Derek, laywer!Lydia, paralegal!Jackson, past Derek/Kate - Freeform, social worker!Isaac, uncle!Stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-03
Updated: 2013-05-28
Packaged: 2017-12-04 03:57:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/706279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DivinusQualia/pseuds/DivinusQualia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Scott and Allison are killed in a car accident, Stiles becomes their children's guardian. He moves from his comfortable life in LA to Beacon Hills, still connected to his friends and family who support him. His grief draws him closer to something he thought he left behind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nobody Won

Stiles flails his arms around when his alarm goes off and resonates through his bedroom. After a few misses, he finally grabs his phone to shut it off and his blurry eyes manage to see the time on the screen. 1:37 am.  _What the hell?_  And it's not his alarm, it's a call. Stiles glares at his phone, but answers it. Maybe it's his Dad.

"'lo?" Stile voice is rough and groggy as he sits up in bed.  
"Stiles! Oh my god, Stiles..." His mind registers the panic is Lydia's voice.  
"L'dia? Wha'da hell..." He rubs his eyes still trying to get up. "Lydia, wha's wrong?" There's a hiccup and a strangled sob then Jackson's harsh voice comes on the line.  
"Stiles." Stiles snaps his lamp on.  
"Jacks, wha's happen'd? Lydia's crying?" Jackson inhales and when he holds his breath Stiles can hear Lydia sobbing in the background.  
"Stiles... There was an accident and-" Stiles shoots up and runs through a mental list of those he loves.  
"My Dad? Melissa? Scott? Alli-" Jackson's voice is gruff.  
"Yes... Scott... Scott and Allison were..." There is a pained whimper and a new tremor in his voice when he continues. "Scott and Allison were is an accident." His voice breaks on the last word and Stiles collapses onto his bed.  
"Scott... Allison... How, how are they? Should I com-" Jackson's voice is soft, too soft.  
"They're already gone, Stiles. They're gone." And Stiles just wants to sink through his floor, through every single one of the 48 apartments below him, then the Earth's crust and make a deal with the Devil himself to bring his best friend back. He had so much to live for. Stiles realizes Jackson is still talking to him and interrupts.  
"Jackson! Victoria and Caleb! Are they okay?!" Jackson doesn’t hesitate.  
"They weren't in the car. They were with Lydia, Penelope, and I. Scott and Allison were going out for dinner." Stiles sighs in half hearted relief.  
"Where are they now?"   
"Your Dad and Melissa have all the kids. Melissa couldn't come to the hospital, but everyone else is here. And Allison's dad." Stiles is dressing before he realizes what he's doing and is yanking his worn suitcase out of his closet.  
"I'm coming. I'll call you to pick me up at the airport. Bye." Stiles hangs up and packs his suitcase while booking a flight on his phone. While he waits for his taxi to arrive he cries.

On the red eye flight over, Stiles cannot contain himself and randomly starts crying. The flight attendant keeps offering tea and a blanket, and Stiles snaps.  
"I don't want a fucking blanket! My brother just died!" And he sobs through an apology as he realizes he's scared her. And she brings him a cup of tea.

Stiles has forgotten how cold it can get at night outside of the city and shivers in his cardigan as he waits for Jackson to arrive. He remembers to send a quick email to his boss about his sudden departure, and it's just finished sending when Scott's Caravan stops in front of him. He almost dies until he sees familiar red hair in the passenger seat, and then Lydia's out of the car and she's hugging him tightly and silently, and her eyes are just as red as his. Jackson takes his bags and throws them in the trunk before returning to give him a hug, and an explanation.  
"I told them to take my car. For their date." Stiles nods once and they all get back in the van. Everyone is silent and the radio drones on at a low volume and after hours, they're parking in front of Stiles' dad's house-beside Lydia's white Mercedes ML350 that was the twin to Jackson's black one. They all stare at it as the walked to the house. Erica and Boyd's F1.50 was beside Isaac and Danny's Acura MDX, and Stiles assume Melissa's Honda was in the garage. His Dad’s cruiser was parked by the curb. Melissa opens the door with a handkerchief to her eyes and she draws Stiles in for a tight hug.  
"Oh, Stiles... Scott... and Allison..." She begins to cry again and Stiles supports her on his shoulder until they reach the living room. Everyone sit silent and somber on the suede couch.  
"Where are the kids?" Erica gets up and hugs him around Melissa.  
"We put them all to bed. Vicky and Cal... They don't know yet. They don't know." She's crying too, quieter than Melissa, and one by one everyone else gets up too, they smother Melissa and Stiles with hugs and Stiles cries too. Everyone is crying and mourning the loss of their friends, their family.

And Stiles knows this is a day that nobody won.

 


	2. Too Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ta-da! Hope it's just as good as the first chapter! :)

Stiles almost falls off the living room couch when he hears screaming.   
"Uncle Stiles! Uncle Stiles!" Victoria's pudgy 5 year old hands are all over his face and they're slightly sticky. He pulls her off quickly.   
"Hey, Vicky. Where's Cal?" Vicky happily climbs into his lap.   
"Baby is sleeping. Does Daddy know you're here?" Stiles remembers why he is here and shakes his head. Vicky's brow furrows. "Does Mommy?" Stiles shakes his head and Victoria brightens. "So it's a surprise!" Stiles chokes back a sob.   
"Y-yeah, baby. Let's go get Cal." Stiles picks her up carefully and rests her on his hip, her arms automatically wrapping around his neck, and she begins to talk about her kindergarten class. Stiles is just at the top of the stairs when Someone's alarm goes off and all hell breaks loose. The shrill sound starts a baby crying-Caleb or Tobias- then angry murmurings of awakened children-Selene and Penelope-then Declan's voice rings out.   
"Stop complaining! We're going to make Mom and Dad and everyone breakfast. Follow me!" Stiles wants to smile, Declan inherited all of Boyd's leadership qualities and all of Erica's commanding spirit. There's the sound of tiny footsteps and Stiles' old bedroom door opens and 3 sets if eyes peek out.   
"Uncle Stiles!" The children shout and run to him and Stiles sets Victoria down.   
"Hey guys, shhhh. Where's Caleb? And Toby?" Declan points to Stiles' Dad's room.   
"Cal is with Grandpa John..." A door swings open and the crying baby sound amplifies.   
"And Toby's right here." Danny stands in the doorway rocking his son in his arms and Isaac's bleary eyes hover behind him.   
"Toby's trying to kill his Daddies from lack of sleep." Danny shoots him a dirty look just as Toby calms down. He turns back to Stiles.   
"Let's get the kids something to eat."

The 4 children are eagerly devouring their sickly sweet cereals while Danny holds Toby on his knee and feeds him. Stiles can't tear his eyes off Vicky.   
"Where is everyone?" Danny shrugs.   
"John and Melissa took Cal to their room, Isaac and I took Toby to our guest room, these 4 were in your bedroom, Lydia and Jackson are in the basement guest room, and you passed out on the couch." Stiles nods slowly.   
"So everyone's here. Good." Danny frowns.   
"Stiles..." Stiles shakes his head.   
"Jesus, they're going to have to be told." Danny opens his mouth. "And you're going to stay, it's best if their entire family us here. Because that's what we are, Danny. We're not all related by blood but Boyd and Erica's son and Lydia and Jackson's daughter call my Dad 'Grandpa'. And someday, so will Toby." Danny bounces the giggling Toby on his knee. Slowly, two by two, tires couples wake up and are drawn to the smell of coffee. Lydia is milling around the window drinking her coffee, Jackson's kissing the top of Penelope's head, Boyd is trying not to fall asleep in his cereal and Erica's given up completely. If Stiles focuses on the beam if sunlight that makes Victoria's brown hair shine with a reddish glow, he can imagine her Daddy and Mommy-his best friends-his family, are still alive and any minute now they'll come down the steps. Stiles is so lost in his fantasy, when the steps creak and he can hear a baby being hushed, he turns to greet Allison. But it's only his Dad, with a traumatized Melissa, and now Stiles sees the situation clearly. Lydia's eyes are glazed over and there are still faint streaks of dried mascara on her cheeks. Jackson is touching Penelope's hair and face and kissing his only child like death may swoop in and rip her away. Boyd is drowning in sorrow, his face twisted with distress and Erica is distraught, her eyes darting around so quickly, Stiles is afraid she'll have an episode. Melissa pours herself a cup of coffee and forgets what she's doing, the cup overflows and burns her hand but she just dumps it all in the sink and runs her hand through her hair. John just looks down at his one true grandson and gives a weak smile. 

All the children want to watch TV, but Stiles holds Victoria back.   
"Vicky, we have to talk." John hands a now fed and sleeping Caleb to Declan and makes him agree to watch the others. Danny carefully hands Toby over too. Victoria watches this all with wide eyes, feet swinging, and as soon as Declan leaves her eyes well up with tears and she blurts out.   
"I'm sorry!" Everyone is confused but Melissa takes her granddaughter's hand and looks into big brown eyes identical to Scott's.   
"What are you sorry for, Vicky?" Now Victoria is confused.   
"I'm not in trouble?" Stiles shakes his head. "Then why am I here alone? And why is everyone so sad? Where are Daddy and Mommy?" Stiles wants to the one to tell her, but he chokes on a sob and Melissa pulls him in for a hug. John turns to his granddaughter and kneels in front of her.   
"Victoria Felicity McCall, baby..." He rests his hand on her tiny shoulder. "Sweetheart, Mommy and Daddy aren't coming home today." Vicky pouts and tears well up in her eyes.   
"Why?! Did I do something wrong?" John sighs.  
"No, sweetheart... It wasn't your fault. Mommy and Daddy are... Gone." Vicky panics and jumps from her chair.   
"Mommy and Daddy left me and baby?! Where did they go? When are they coming back?" Victoria's voice gets higher and higher as she wails and she stops with a squeak and tears rolling down her chubby cheeks. John makes a pained sound in his throat.   
"You know where Grandma is, right?" Vicky points at Melissa. "No. Other grandma, Uncle Stiles' real Mommy." Vicky nods her brown eyes widening by the second. "Sweetheart... Mommy-Mommy and Daddy went to stay with Grandma." Vicky nods and as the fact sinks in she frantically shakes her head.   
"No! No! You lie, Grandpa! Mommy and Daddy can't go to Grandma! She's in Heaven! You only go to Heaven if you're de-" Lydia bursts into tears and collapses into Jackson's arms. Boyd and Erica lean into each other. Vicky runs fir the stairs and Stiles follows her. She shouldn't be alone right now, she's going to be too alone the rest of her life. 

 


	3. Three Tears

Stiles catches Vicky crying before they head to the church. She has her hands balled into tiny fists, crushing the satin and silk fabric of her black dress. Lydia had bought if for her, and any other time Vicky would have cooed over the expensive delicate dress, but now she just didn't care. Stiles kneels next to the edge of his bed, in the room he and Scott uses to share.   
"Vicky..." He stops. What should he say? He knows nothing will be alright, and it won't get better-his heart still tightens whenever he thinks of his mother. He looks up from his focused state to find Vicky's mouth open in a sigh and tears rolling down het chubby cheeks. And he just knows: she doesn't want him to say anything. Stiles wraps his niece in his arms and hold her tightly, still until there's a knock at the door. Melissa watches them keenly, her eyes already red.   
"We're filling the car now." Stiles nods and picks Vicky up, she buries her face in his shoulder and Stile can feel her tears through his dark suit.   
"Okay. Caleb is in?" Melissa nods and they all leave the room. In the car, Melissa sits next to John and Stiles sits in the back with the children, they crawl through the town in a procession, following 1large hearse that hold 2 coffins. Caleb gurgles happily and almost spits up on his dark gray onesie. He smiles every time Stiles looks at him and it reminds him of Scott's open, loving face. It hurts. And every time the turn a corner, Cal claps and cheers and finally Victoria glares at her baby brother.   
"Stop it! Stop it, stop it, stop it! Bad Caleb! You don't know, but it hurts! So stop!" Stiles reaches over the car-seat and smoothes Vicky's hair.   
"No. No, Victoria. He doesn't know. But we have to let him know he's still loved. You still love him don't you?" Victoria frowns and turns away. Caleb, who was frozen in surprise, cries until they reach the church. 

As the immediate family Stiles, John, Melissa and the two children sit at the very front of the church. They pass their old friends and neighbors they barely talked to, Coach Finstock shakes Stiles hand. They struggle to get past the well-meaning attendants without Vicky or Cal bursting unto tears and when they finally reach the front of the church, Stiles is confronted with Chris Argent's sounds of weeping. As he sits, Boyd is right behind him and gives him a comforting squeeze on the shoulder, but Stiles is too focused on Chris. He feels the pain but he has his family, his friends. Chris Argent only had Allison. Stiles slides along the pew bench until he's right beside Chris.   
"I'm so... This... We will be there for each other." That seems like the right thing to say, because while Chris Argent doesn't stop crying, he manages to give a crooked grimace when Victoria waves. Stiles sits numb through the service, the seemingly endless line of people who've come to pay their respects are genuine but they still irritate him. The pastor says something from the Bible but Caleb is getting fussy and Stiles is just lifting the bottle to his eager mouth when the pastor beckons toward him.   
"Come, my son, and tell us of the fallen." Stiles carefully hands Caleb and his bottle over to Melissa and goes to stand in front of the mourners. He clears his throat and pulls a folded slip of paper from his jacket pocket. 

"Scott..." He clears his throat. "Scott was my best friend. And my brother. He brought a special aura of love with him wherever he went and he'd been with me through the hardest and best moments of my life. Not some, all. But we all know how special Scott was and when Allison moved to town she could see it too. Through high school, I saw my best friend turned brother become a man who supported his girlfriend and her ambitions. I had a new girl in town turn into an amazing friend who cared about people just as much as Scott did. And I watched those two amazing people I admired and loved realize they were meant for each other. When they got married, no one could have smiled wider than Scott. And no one could have blushed more beautifully than Allison. And once they were legally bound to each other and had done a great service to the world by becoming an accepting, loyal couple, they decided to do some more good. Scott became an active member of the fire department here in Beacon Hills while Allison started an accounting firm that specialized in ensuring organizations that helped youth and young children were funded. And once these goals were established, Allison got pregnant. On May 7th, 2008 I saw my brother become the happiest man alive as he held his first child in his arms. I saw my sister-in-law cry tears of joy and sadness as she named her newborn after her late mother. 2 years later, I saw the welcome their son and they were just as excited. I saw a family formed, created and I know no one else who could have developed as loving a life as Scott and Allison. They will be sorely missed but not forgotten and their children will become as generous as they were." As Stiles steps down from the podium, his heart in his throat, alone can think is that Vicky is crying again. 

After Stiles, there is a woman from the accounting firm that talks about Allison. Chris keeps his head bowed and eyes closed the while time, having rejected the option of speaking about his daughter. Vicky keeps moving from curled in Chris's lap, to leaning on John's arm, to holding Stiles hand. Stiles is trying to hold it all together when a man steps up to the podium in a dark gray suit with a dark green tie. He clears his throat. 

"I'm the fire department Chief, Derek Hale. I was honored to have known and served with Lieutenant Scott McCall. If there was something that could be done to save lives, Scott would have done it. He was brave and selfless, loving with all members of the brigade. He was a true hero, especially to me. Lieutenant McCall singlehandedly rescued 2 small children trapped in their home and when he emerged from the flames, he was badly burned and had given up his gas mask to a 4 year old. He then refused to go to the hospital until the child's new puppy was also rescued. Scott was a magnanimous humanitarian to his very end. And I am privileged to have shared a firehouse with him for 12 years." The man steps down and Stiles tracks his movements back to a pew where a young girl in a black dress sits solemnly. Stiles feels the recognition before he knows it and suddenly new articles fly into his head. Hale Fire! Family murdered! The greatest scandal in Beacon Hills legacy of peace. The entire Hale family burned to death in their own home after their son's psychotic ex-wife lit it on fire after he gained full custody of their 2 month old daughter. Derek Hale, alone by fire and fights it every day. Stiles barely hears the pastor asking everyone to rise as they exit the church to the graveyard. As they leave Stiles absently thinks to remind himself to thank Lydia for the beautiful flower arrangements she ordered. 

Out in the field of perfectly spaced and organized tombstones, 2 freshly dug graves send the fragrance of life into the air. Stiles thinks it's depressing. Vicky holds Chris's hand until the coffins from the church and brought outside, then she runs over to press her palms to the redwood coffin.   
"I love you Mommy. I can take care of Caleb." she moves to Scotts mahogany coffin. "I love you Daddy. I can take care of Caleb." She pauses then and drops a kiss on the smooth, polished wood before returning to Chris's side. John supports Caleb's carrier and Melissa's weak frame as Scott’s coffin is lowered in first. Boyd and Erica stand, holding onto Selene and Declan, Isaac holds Toby and Danny brushes tears away, Lydia has a death grip on Jackson's shirt and he clings to Penelope's shoulder. Stiles stands with his empty hands and heart while Allison is lowered in after a few minutes and just as people start to walk away and dry their eyes, Stiles realizes he's lost too many people in his life. 

And from his eyes drop three tears.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too much? Leave comments! Thank you. :)


	4. The 4th Clause

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wah! :0 Fogive me for the length of time between updates.

Stile controls his emotions after they bury his best friend.

Or at least as well as he can, especially while sitting stiff in a scratchy suit in a lawyer’s office. Listening to her read off Scott's and Allison's last wishes, Vicky's tiny hand clenches on his and he gives her a weak smile. Lydia clear's her throat and continues reading.  
"The fourth clause states than in the event of death, Scott McCall leaves his children in the care of his wife, Allison McCall." she half chokes and Jackson's hand tightens on her shoulder, Penelope brushes away a stray red hair from her blotchy face and she manages to continue. "In case of death, Allison McCall leaves her children in the care of her husband, Scott McCall." Lydia sniffs and sighs before she continues. "The fourth clause also state that in case of tragedy, Mr. and Mrs. Scott McCall bequeath their responsibilities are guardians of Victoria McCall and Caleb McCall to one Mr. Genim Stilinski." Stile's mind races through his entire life so far and then Scott and Allison's smiling faces are at the front of his mind. His mouth is dry and his heart is pounding in his ears but he can faintly hear Lydia continue. "If Mr. Stilinski does not accept this responsibility, the guardianship should fall to Mr. and Mrs. John Stilinski or Mr. Christopher Argent." Stiles stands quickly.  
"Yes." Lydia blinks.  
"Stiles?" Stiles nods aggressively, his hand tightening on Vicky's.  
"I want Vicky and Caleb. Yes." Lydia smiles softly.  
"I know. I knew you would. But I have to finish reading first." Stiles nods and half listens to the rest of the will, Vicky had fallen asleep in his lap, and he hears his name again. Erica has her hand on hi shoulder.  
"Stiles?" He feels like he's in a dream and gapes at her.  
"Erica?" She grins, almost looking like two of her best friends weren't dead.  
"You fell asleep." Stiles rubs his bleary eyes and finds Vicky still snoring lightly on his lap."  
"Did I miss anything?" Erica smoothes Vicky's hair.  
"Scott and Allison left you their house. So you could move from LA. If you wanted, the kids could move out there, or-" Stiles shakes his head.  
"I'd never take them so far from their family. I'll move back." He smiles up at Erica. "I think I need to be here too."

Stiles looks at all the boxes he has in Scott's-the house's living room. His apartment in LA is already up for sale, his BMW sits in the garage beside Sco-the caravan, and he's successfully resigned from his job with his boss’s condolences. Now he just has to find a place for all his comics. Sco-the house has 3 bedrooms, and a study, but the study is filled with Sco-their things and Stiles doesn't want to move them. He calls his dad.  
"Hello?" The sheriff sounds crazed and Stiles smiles.  
"Hey Dad." John sighs in relief.  
"You're on your way?" Something crashes in the background and Stiles can hear Melissa yelling.  
"No, sorry, I don't have a phonebook. What's the number for the storage place?" John grumbles, but finds the number.   
"Stiles, couldn't you have just googled it?" Stiles smiles."  
"Yeah, but I wanted to know if you were all alive still." John laughs dryly.  
"Bye Stiles. Call when you're on your way." 

Stiles is finishing the paperwork at the storage place, when Derek Hale walks in followed by his daughter. He grunts at the man behind the counter-something either unintelligible or he's just too terrifying for the clerk to handle-and waits (angrily). His daughter knocks on the desk.  
"Sorry, sir. My Dad has just lost the keys to our storage locker and we'd like to get in." The man collects himself and hustle over to the computer.  
"Of course. Have you any ID?" Derek glares at the man and he gulps. "Sorry, sir, it's company policy." Derek grumbles but after a disapproving look from his daughter hands over his driver's license. Stiles isn't aware he's staring until he makes eye contact and is startle by how clear gray absolutely gorgeous eyes can look so threatening. Stiles gives a little yelp and turns back to his paperwork. When he turns to leave, Derek's daughter is behind him. She smiles and Stiles noted her eyes are almost the same as her father's with more of a blue tint.  
"Hello. I remember you, you’re Mr. Stik-Stilen-Stil-" Stiles smiles.  
"Please. Just call me Stiles." A shadow hovers over them and a man grunts.  
"Grey. What did I say about leaving me?" The girl pouts.  
"Sorry. I just wanted to apologize to Mr. Stiles." Derek exhales.  
"You mean sorry. Not apologize." Derek seems to remember Stiles is standing there and turns to him, his hand firmly on Grey's shoulder. "We are sorry for your loss." Stiles wants to reply, and he's heartbroken over the death of his friends, but Derek Hale's muscular firefighter body is recalling all the twink feelings in Stiles' whole body and finally had swallows.  
"Thank you. I'm sorry too. You lost a firefighter." Derek's eyes go dark and he looks at his daughter.  
"And a friend. Yes... Have a nice day." Grey waves and they leave, Stiles sinks back onto the counter of the storage office.

 


	5. Worst (Best) Five Minutes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay. so i revised the previous chapters. sorry for the inconvenience... :/

Stiles loads the dishwasher while Erica sits behind him nursing a cup of coffee. Declan, Selene, and Vicky are happily shrieking in the other room, but Caleb is thankful still asleep. The dishes slot in perfectly and Erica clears her throat behind him.  
"I have a space for you at the firm. It... It was Allison's, but she left me in charge and I think you'd do her justice." Stiles desperately tries to not feel the tears pricking at his eyes and shuts the dishwasher.  
"Yeah, yeah. It's just... What about Vicky and Cal?" Erica sighs and stares into her cup.  
"They can spend time with John and Melissa. It's will be good for them. All of them." She pierces Stile's with her gaze and he suddenly finds his own twitching feet very interesting.  
"Erica..." She exhales deeply.  
"I don't want to be a bitch, they were my friends too, but it you mope around Vicky like this... How is she going to move on? She has to become strong like Allison. Her ghost will haunt you if you turn her daughter into a weepy mess." She gives a weak smile that matches her joke and Stiles rubs his temples.  
"Yeah. I guess. I'll come in Monday?"Erica takes a sip of coffee and smirks.  
"Tomorrow's Monday." Stiles curses and Erica laughs.  
"Nope. tomorrow's Sunday. But we should have a thing. For Vicky. Just some kids she knows, let her have a good time." Stiles nods slowly.  
"Yeah. Okay, but could you-" Erica rolls her eyes.  
"Of course I'll handle it. For a gay guy, you suck at planning for things." Stiles throws the dishrag at her head of curls.

Stiles keeps having to open the door and greet people he's never met. who immediately try to offer a casserole. Who decided casseroles were the food of the grieving? But Stiles smiles politely and invites them in, their children glad for the party while they're glad for the wine, and Stiles is thankful Allison demanded a large fridge but hoping no one else brings a damn casserole. Boyd is entertaining several children by allowing them to swing from his arms and Danny stands by, waiting for an accident. Isaac rocks Toby in his arms in the corner. watched by John and Melissa. Stiles is pleased to see her fresh faced and almost smiling, his Dad had been discretely telling him of the several breakdowns she would have whenever she thought about Scott, and even as John tried to hide it, Stiles could tell he was in pain too. Chris Argent was reading a story to a little girl who almost looked like Allison when she was small, and Stiles was thankful to Erica for inviting him. The doorbell rings again, and before Stiles can exit the kitchen, Erica is leading someone in. Mr. Derek Hale. Erica is smiling but Derek looks grumpy  _and oh dear god he's holding a casserole_. Stiles forces a welcoming smile onto his face just as Erica turns to present him.  
"...And you know Stiles." Grey smiles up at him.  
"Hi Mr. Stiles." She nudges her father and he grunts. Then she glares up at him and he clears his throat.  
"Hello, Stiles." Stiles tries not to shiver from the rumble of Derek's voice and Derek thrusts the casserol dish forward. "Grey said-" She glares at her father again. "We thought you might appreciate this." Stile graciously reaches for the dish.  
"Oh, thank you." He opens the fridge and swears he can hear Derek complaining to his daughter about how he already has a million casseroles, and Grey's disapproving  _'Daddy'_. When he turns back around, Declan has materialized in the kitchen. He throws a wary look at Derek.  
"Hey, Grey. Do you-Can you come play?"Grey blushes and turns her big eyes up to Derek.  
"Dad, may I?" Derek grunts and nods, before watching Grey skip out of the room after Declan. Stiles chuckles.  
"She's a bit young to be pulling the overprotective dad thing, don't you think?" Stiles wants to think that's a hint of a smile pulling on Derek's lips.  
"I guess. But it's never to early to start practicing. Scott and I..." Derek falls silent and clears his throat. Stiles shakes his head, ignoring the pang in his heart.  
"No, it's okay. What was it?" Derek sighs.  
"Sorry, it's just... You'd better get practicing, for Vicky." Stiles laughs, it sounds hollow to him but it's enough to make Derek visibly relax.  
"I suppose. She is so cute. How old is Grey anyways?" Derek smiles softly to himself.  
"She's almost 10. She's a little woman, always bossy." Stiles can hear the affection pouring out of Derek and turns away to hide his blush.  
"So she's perfect for Declan." Derek chuckles.  
"Hopefully not for a while yet. I don't think I could handle losing her." Stiles' throat feels tight and dry, and he is literally saved when the doorbell rings.  
"Oh, excuse me."

It's another of Vicky's schoolmate, with yet another parent bearing a god awful casserole. Stile carries it to the kitchen and considers puking at the thought of the amount of casserole he's going to eat. He jumos when he realizes Derek is still in the kitchen, now settled at the table with a bottle of beer. Stiles tries to pull his eyebrows back down on his face.  
"Oh, hey. I thought you'd be mingling." Derek shakes his head.  
"I'm not much for mingling." Stiles nods and open the fridge door, only to watch horrified as a dish dislocates itself from a pile and relocates inself in chucks of potato and shards of glass all over the kitchen floor. Stiles swears, loudly, and several women rush into the kitchen. Erica is at the front.  
"Stiles! Do you need help?" Stiles shakes his head and sets the newest casserole on the counter.  
"No. NO. It was my fault. I got this." There's the scrape of a chair and Derek is standing.  
"I'll help. It was my stupid casserole that fell anyways." Stiles wants to melt into the floor, but Erica manages to clear the kitchen until it' just Stiles and Derek saring at each other. Derek clears his throat.  
"Do you have a broom?" Stiles points to the pantry door, then grabs some paper owels. He lifts the largest chucks of potato off the ground and when Derek comes over he sighs.  
"I'm sorry. I wasted your casserole." Derek shrugs.  
"It's fine. I think you have enough." Stiles half grins and Derek smiles back, his gray eyes brighter than before. They work in silence, clearing the casserole off the tile, and when they're finished, the guests start to leave. The take their coats from the front hall closet and collect their children from the living room with cheery waves adn they're gone. Derek is the last to leave, Grey slowly putting on her jacket at Declan nervously watches her. Derek pulls his jacket-leather-on over his gray henley and smiles at Stiles.  
"Thanks for the smashing time." Stiles rolls his eyes.  
"Sorry for breaking your casserole dish." Declan gives Grey a quick hug when Derek isn't looking and she turns a vivid pink. Derek holds her shoulder as they leave and he grins again at Stiles.  
"I hate casserole." 


	6. Six Months Later

Stiles hasn't seen or heard of Derek Hale in 6 months.

He agreed to take Allison's accountant position at the firm she started with Erica. Victoria only cries on Thursday night and Caleb has stopped asking for "Mama" or "Da" which Stiles isn't sure he should be happy about or not. Melissa has gone back to work without loss clouding her eyes, and John doesn't choke on memories anymore.

Stiles hasn't seen or heard of Derek Hale in 6 months.

So when he offers to take everyone else children to the movies on Valentine's Day, so the couples can have dates, he isn't expecting Declan to start frantically waving from the ticket line.   
"Grey! Grey!" Selene, Vicky, and Penelope turn, even Cal and Toby wiggle in their double stroller. Stiles' kind of hopes he is invisible behind the children but when Grey rushes over with a big smile, followed by Derek, he knows he isn't.   
"Hi Declan! Hi Selene, hi Vicky, hi Penelope. Hi Mr. Stiles!" Derek finally reaches and rest his hand on Grey's shoulder.   
"Hello Stiles." Stiles smiles in a way he hopes isn't creepy and Declan quickly reaches for Grey's hand.   
"We're going to see 'The Croods' in 3D!" Grey holds his dark hand with her two pale ones.   
"My Daddy and I were going too!" Declan is suddenly shy and looks up at Derek.   
"Mr. Hale, do you want to sit with us?" Derek grunts and Grey shoots him a disapproving look before smiling at Declan.   
"Daddy and I would like to sit with you." Vicky, Selene, and Penelope quickly welcome her into the fold while Cal and Toby gurgle in the stroller. Derek steps just a little closer and smirks.   
"No hot date for Valentine's?" Stiles laughs hoarsely.   
"What are you talking about? I have 6! They're a little underage though. You?" Derek smiles and it's a mix of sweet and sexy while he gestures to Grey.   
"That was my date but I think she's found a new one." Stiles smiles at Declan and Grey's still intertwined fingers.   
"Oh well. I can be your date!" Stiles likes to think that Derek grins grows just a little bit.

After the movie, Caleb and Tobias had fallen asleep. Derek had carefully held them against his chest while Stiles has escorted the sugar-high children out of the theater. When they reached the stroller and he turned to take Caleb, Derek simply moved past him and secured both of the toddlers into their spaces with a smile. Derek laughed at Stiles shocked expression.   
"I am a father Stiles, I did have to do this once." Stiles shrugs with a teasing grin.   
"I figured you were the type to let your wife do it." Derek's smile slips, and when it returns it's dim and his voice is flat.   
"Well. This was fun. Grey and I have to head home now. Grey!" Grey reluctantly pulls herself away from Declan and takes her father's hand. She waves sadly.   
"Bye Declan! Bye Mr. Stiles, bye Vicky and Selene and Penelope. Bye babies." Derek nods curtly and they depart from the movie theater. Stiles has no idea what he's done wrong.

 

It's only 9 pm when the phone rings, and usually Stiles doesn't care but Caleb has just been coaxed to sleep and Vicky wakes up if she hears a pin drop. He throws himself at the phone and trips over his own feet in his haste. Just as he answers he-thank god-hears no one stirring upstairs. He takes the phone to his study.  
"Hello. Stilinski-McCall residence." There's deep breathing and Stiles sighs.  
"Look, kid, this isn't funny. My Dad is the sheriff and if-"  
"Stiles. Sorry to call so late." Stiles freezes, the rough voice on the phone-it's Derek.  
"Derek? What-Why are you calling?" Stiles can hear Derek moving around his house.  
"I just... I wanted to apologze for my harsh behaviour today. I just had to get Grey to bed first and it's so late and... I'm sorry I called." Stiles sits in the ugly plaid couch he bought Scott as a gag-gift for his first home.  
"No. It's okay. It was obviosly something I said. I'm sorry." Derek sighs on the line.  
"Well, I'd feel better if we did this in person. Then I could explain, because i over-reacted to something you don't even know about. Can we... Could we get dinner some time?" Stiles' heart leaps into his throat. Rugged, gorgeous Derek Hale wants to have dinner with him-to talk-but dinner!  
"Um, sure. Do you have a date and time?" There' the sound of pages flipping.  
"I don't have to be at the firehouse next weekend. So Saturday at... 7? If you need, you can leave Vicky and Cal with Grey and her babysitter. Then we could drive together?" Stiles holds his breath at the opportunity, but Derek must think he's hesitating because he continues. "Only if you want to though. But... we could save some... trees?" The awkward excuse makes Stiles smile.  
"Um, yeah. That could work. I'll see you next weekend."

* * *

 

Erica screams when Stiles tells her. Screams and demands he take Friday off to buy suitable clothes to be ripped off his body. Stiles tries to calm her down and smiles at the other-now disgruntled-customers in the corner Starbucks.  
"Erica, I don't need a day. It's just to talk and apologize." Erica sips her coffee.  
"Like hell it is. Take the day. I'll come with you. I always do, and I'll call Lydia." It's left unspoken that Allison always came too.  
  


Stiles finds himself in an expensive suit store with Lydia badgering a poor employee.  
"I get my husband's suits made here! I know you can make custom suits." The employee-his name tag says Jeff-shakes his head in fear.  
"I'm sorry, ma'am. We don't do that here." Lydia is almost shaking with her rage.  
"Ma'am? Ma'am?! I'm not a 'ma'am', you useless piece of-" A large, well built man emerges from the employee only door.  
"Mrs. Lydia!" Lydia is still fuming as Jeff scurries off.  
"I'm not impressed Stefan. Your employee's are getting worse." Stefan smiles.  
"Now, Mrs. Lydia, you know I'd do anything for you. Don't let me employee's mistakes hurt you." Lydia flips her hair.  
"Well then, I need a suit made up for Saturday." Stefan blanches.  
"Next Saturday? That's... urgent." Lydia rolls her eyes.  
"No, Stefan, by this Saturday." Stefan truely looks worried now and Stiles trades a glance with Erica.  
"Mrs. Lydia... That is-" Lydia pulls out her checkbook with a demon's smile.  
"Now, Stefan, you know me." Stefan seems to lose all his apprehension with a bright smile as he leads Lydia to the register.  
"Mrs. Lydia! It will be done by tomorrow. We already have Mr. Whittemore's measurements so-" Lydia points at Stiles.  
"Oh, Stefan, this suit if for my friend. Take his measurements. I think he'd look best in a coal gray suit. Red silk lining. Very tailored, he's got a nice figure. Understand?" Stefan nods and when he waves his hand a little woman rushes over to Stiles.  
"Monsieur. Please come with me." Erica gives a small wave and Lydia is scribbling a large figure into her checkbook while Stiles is dragged into the fitting room.

* * *

The suit fits perfectly. It tapers in at the waist and makes Stiles' shoulder seem broader than they are and the gray plays up his pale skin in a way that plain black would never have. Lydia harrumps behind him.  
"Stefan. I asked for coal gray. This is ash gray." In the mirror, Stiles can see beads of sweat forming on Stefan's wide forehead.  
"Ah, Mrs. Lydia, we ran out and-" Lydia raises her hand.  
"No excuses Stefan." Then more begrudgingly, "But it looks good." Stefan smiles.  
"Thank you." Stiles turns in frnt of the mirror and Erica whistles playfully.  
"Derek Hale on't know what's hit him." 


	7. Seven

Erica winks at Stiles when he come in on Saturday.  
"Hot date tonight?"Stiles smirks at her and winks back.  
"You know it." Erica sets his coffee on his desk and decides to stay.  
"Oh, Boyd says thanks for taking Declan and Selene to the movies." Stiles wrinkles his nose.  
"Dude. I love you and Boyd, but I don't need you guys to thank me for letting you get your freak on with the kids out of the house." Erica laughs like she doesn't care, but blushes.  
"Whatever... But we were wondering if you wanted to come for dinner? Next weekend." Stiles shrugs.  
"Yeah. I'm free. Should I bring anything?" Erica bites her lip.  
"Your Mom's lasagna?" Stile rolls his eyes.  
"I'm only ever invited when someone needs comfort food..." She slaps his shoulder.  
"No! It's a potluck thing. I'm making-well Boy's making steaks, Danny is baking a pie, Lydia is providing copious amounts of alcohol, and you're bringing lasagna." Stiles feels a warm glow when he thinks of them all getting together again.  
"Okay. Potluck thing, it is." Erica, finished her mission, hops off his desk.  
"Have a nice day, Stiles." He rolls his eyes at her as she heads for her office.  
"You too, demon." He shuts the door before he sees her finger raised in defiance.

Stiles makes it through almost the whole day with his door closed. The pleasant buzz of secretaries and deliveries just outside his office blinds accompany the sharp, quick turns of files in a familiar way that calms his heart. Several of the charities that the accounting firm holds the books for are up for their monthly audit and Stiles enjoys poring over the deposits an the usage files. The numbers add up easily, and Stiles is pleased to find the charities working hard and working out. Erica raps on his window as she heads out to lunch and again when she returns. Stiles packed himself a homemade Philly cheese steak. The murmuring of interns and clerks outside the door fade out and deliveries stop as they pass the morning and mid-day rush. Stiles is 17 pages into a report on the possibility of fraud in a local bakery when his phone buzzes on his desk. His alarm to pick up Vicky from weekend care and Cal from daycare. Before he heads out he pops his head into Erica's office-Declan and Selene have lacrosse and ballet today and Boyd took them. She's on a call, rolling her eyes as she tries to explain to whoever's on the other end that they cannot justify not paying their taxes, but she waves and Stiles says goodbye to his secretary on his way out. He throws his briefcase into the passenger seat of the caravan and turns up the radio. The quiet of the office isn't appreciated outside of work and he find himself handbanging to Metallica when he pulls up in front of the elementary school. Vicky is on the steps when he drive up and lowers the volume. Stiles quickly gets out to secure her into her booster seat.  
"Hey, Vicky. What did you do today?" She beams at him.  
"We painted! Ms. Honey made us put them in our backpack after she folded them so they wouldn't get messy. But I'll show you when we get home."  
"OH, sounds fun. I'm jealous. I just sat an looked at numbers all day." Vicky pulls a face.  
"Eww... Numbers." Stiles shrugs.  
"It's a necessary evil, cupcake." Vicky keeps muttering about math being evil under her breath as Stiles closes the door As he heads around the car he sees Penelope leaping into Jackson's arms. He swings her twice before setting her down, then notices Stiles. He waves stiffly, but Stile appreciates the effort and waves back before getting into the car. Vicky is still talking a mile a minute about paint colors and rainbows when they reach the day care and Stiles interrupts.  
"Sorry, Vicky. Have to get Cal. You'll wait in the car?" Vicky nods and Stiles quickly runs into the low building. He runs into Danny carrying a wiggling Tobias and smiles.  
"Hey, Danny!" Danny looks up and grins, his dimples on display.  
"Stiles! Erica already texted me, I can't wait for the lasagna!" Stiles laughs.  
"I can't wait for pie! Where's Isaac?" Danny nods towards his car where Isaac's messy blonde curls are easily seen. They shake as he frantically waves and Stiles waves back.  
"I guess he likes lasagna, too?" Danny laughs and shifts Toby in his arms.  
"Yeah. See you next weekend, man. This little man is getting hungry." Stiles smiles at Toby's cute, almost about ready to cry face.  
"Next weekend. Bye!" Danny waves and Stiles continues in to the building. The assistant takes him to the toddler nap room where he carefully bundles up Cal and signs him out. At the door of the car he motions for Vicky to be quiet before he open it and gently buckles Cal in place. He tests the lock twice before locking the door.  
"Okay, Vicky, when we're home you can show me your picture. Let's just let Cal sleep." Vicky nods solemnly and by the time they reach home, she's fallen asleep too. Stiles knows it's going to be hell getting them to go to bed, but he allows them to sleep, carefully transporting them one by one into their rooms and covering them with their blankets. Stiles kisses their foreheads and sets the kettle for a mug of tea, the TV on at a low but audible volume, when he remembers Vicky's picture. He considers waiting for her to wake up, but he's intrigued and creeps up the stairs to pull the rolled up sheet from her bag.

 

The background of the picture is the house. Stiles' knows it's theirs because Scott painted one set of shingles red and the rest blue, the red paint on the page roughly where the kitchen window was. In front of the house stood Vicky, with extravagant red streaked brown hair, and Cal, a stick figure in a crudely drawn carrier, and Stiles, a tall figure with little spots all over. The sky was shaded cornflower blue with a bright yellow sun that smiled from the corner of the page it monopolized and 3 clouds. On the middle cloud, directly above Stiles, were 2 stick figures. One had easily recognizable messy brown hair and the other wore a giant smile and wielded a bow. Stiles didn't feel the tears form, roll down his cheeks, or drip off his chin. He realized when one landed on the red shutters and immediately wrinkled the page and made the paint run slightly. He cursed under his breath and wiped at his eyes, sniffing. Stiles decides to magnet the picture onto the fridge for Vicky to see when she woke up. Later, as Stiles watches a bad rerun, he remembers something he'd almost forgotten. A sense of peace and perfection. A whole completeness that had escaped him for so long after the loss of his brother.

He realized he was going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to fill time. :P Also, 7 can be seen to mean perfection or completion. :) (the more you know...)


	8. She Ate Me Whole

Stiles is twitchy. Well, he's a naturally twitchy person but he swears he's worse than normal. The fine silk lining of his brand new, ridiculously expensive suit seems to itch at his skin that's too accustomed to JC Penny. After long deliberation between himself, Erica, and Lydia, the final decision was for Chris to take his grandchildren. Erica had won the argument with the trump card: "They're his grandkids. He barely sees them, only like, what, 50 times in the last 6 months?" and Lydia had demanded to know if Derek's babysitter could be trusted, by inventing truely terrifying situations. When Stiles had dropped Vicky and Cal at the Argent house, Chris had smiled at him. It was sad and crooked, but a smile. Vicky had immediately climbed up into his arms and kissed his cheek with a gleeful "Grandpa!" Stiles had grinned back, his subconscious gained control of his motor skills and he started talking as he sets Caleb's carrier down.  
"Mr. Argent... My Dad and Melissa are coming over for dinner this Sunday. Would you like to join us?" Chris seemed surprised but glad for the invitation.   
"I-I would, Stiles. Thank you. It will be nice to... Be around people." He hoists Vicky higher on his hip. "And I get to spend time with my babies." Stiles can't close his mouth.   
"In that case you can keep them overnight, and just bring them back to the house for dinner." Chris laughs and covers Vicky's ears.   
"I guessed you had a date but you just confirmed it's a hot one." He winks playfully. "Knock his socks off, Stiles." Stiles regains control of his rogue body.   
"Oh, thanks Mr. Argent." Vicky waves as he leaves the house. 

Stiles slowly approaches the mansion hidden in the forest. It's made of dark wood and a black roof. Almost ominous, except for the cheerful red stained front door and the rainbow colored children's playset installed in the fron yard. As he pulls the car into park on a heap of dead leaves next to an ancient shed Stiles adjusts his shirt and decides to undo the top 2 buttons. He checks his breath before climbing out of the car. As he stands on the patio after ringing the doorbell, he sees the curtains at the nearest wind swish and suddenly Grey opens the door.   
"Mr. Stiles! Daddy is getting dressed. Come in." Stiles steps forward and is awed by the completely natural wood interior. A sprawling staircase with steps hewn from rough tree trunks is probably the most magnificent thing Stiles has ever seen. Grey closes the door and sighs. "Sorry, Daddy is slow. I told him to get dressed 15 minutes ago. " Stiles shrugs.   
"It's okay. I'm a little early." Grey smiles.   
"Would you like to sit, Mr. Stiles? Water or something else?" Stiles slips his shoes off and decides against asking for a shot of whiskey.   
"Um, some water would be great. Thank you, Grey." she nods and points at the living room while she walks the opposite way to the kitchen.   
"Just in there. Daddy will see you when he comes down." Stiles sits stiffly in the dark brown suede couch and his eyes roam over the entire room. There's a fireplace in the far wall, made of dusty red brick that matched the wood paneled walls and everything is chocolate brown or a pale green. Stiles feel his approval of this decorative scheme down to his bones, then Grey returns. She presents him with a glass of water and sits beside him. Stiles takes a sip and his throat still feels dry. They sit like that for 5 minutes in silence while Stiles takes tiny sips of water, until footsteps come down the stairs. Stiles straightens up and turns to find the most horrifying sight he's ever seen: His "date" is extremely less dressed up than he. Stiles gasps and flushes red.   
"Oh. Sorry, I should have dressed more casual." He looks at Lydia expensive silk suit and then longingly at Derek's jeans and gray collared shirt combo. Derek smiles.   
"No. It's okay... I... I can change." Stiles hearts freaks out.   
"Really? I mean, I don't want us to be too fancy for wherever we're going. I'm obviously overdoing it." Derek laughs.   
"No, really. It's okay. I'd... It would be bad if you felt awkward. And we can just go somewhere fancier. I know this classy Italian place just outside of Beacon Hills." Stiles smiles gratefully.   
"If it's not too much trouble." Derek shakes his head and heads back up the stairs. Grey smiles at him, then turns to Stiles.   
"Good. Daddy never wears his suits."

Stiles now thinks Derek doesn't wear suits too often because women would literally just start ripping their clothes and offering their bodies. Hell, if Stiles' suit wasn't so expensive-or a gift from Lydia-he'd probably already be naked. Because as good as he looks in his suit, Derek looks better. His suit is black with gray pin-striping and he wears a blue tie that forcibly puts the exact same shade  into his gray eyes. Grey smooths her Dad's shirt sleeve.   
"You look very nice, Daddy. Almost as nice as Mr. Stiles." Stiles blushes as Derek rakes his eyes over him and smiles.   
"As insulted as I am, Grey, I have to agree with you." Derek bends to kiss her forehead and the doorbell rings. Derek opens the door to a smiling girl. Her smile brightens.   
"Oh! Mr. Hale you look so good in a suit." Derek smiles sheepishly.   
"Thanks, Stacy. My friend and I will probably be back around 9:30. You know when Grey goes to bed, and there's dinner in the fridge for you both. You can ransack the pantry, but no candy for Grey." Stacy nods, obviously smitten.   
"Of course, Mr. Hale. Have a nice night!" When Stiles makes eye contact with the high schooler she does a double take but keeps quiet. Derek grabs his keys from a hook screwed directly into the wood on the wall and catches Stiles' eye.   
"C'mon Stiles. It's almost a long drive." They slip through the door and Grey waves from the window. Out on the patio, Stiles looks around.   
"Where's your car?" Derek smiles easily and presses a button  attached to his key ring.   
"The garage is underground."  The little shed beside Stile's car makes a noice and the door shifts up to reveal a dark driveway. Stiles can feel his nerd-sense tingling.   
"No way! You're like Batman..." Derek laughs, it's deep and rumbling.   
"Usually I go through the door in the house, then drive out. Maybe I'll show you sometime." Stiles scoffs.   
"You freaking better..." He laughs under his breath at himself. "But forgive me, I just regressed to 15 years old." Derek smiles.   
"It's okay. I'll go get the car." He jogs lightly to the shed and disappears into the shadows. Stiles believes he only jogged to show off how unimaginably toned his butt was. After a minute, the feline purr of a powerful engine emanated from the dark and a jet black Camero edged out of the dim light. Stiles whistled and Derek grinned from inside the car, he drove out and up next to the patio.   
"Get in Stiles, the restaurant is farther than expected." Stiles gladly opened the door to find soft leather seats. As he sunk into the warmth, he sighed and Derek laughed. "Camero fan?" Stiles rolls his eyes.   
"Car fanatic. This baby is beautiful." Derek grins as they head down his driveway.  
"Almost as gorgeous as Grey." Stiles grins back.   
"Almost." 

They drive out to Aspen Hollow, 30 minutes outside of Beacon Hills and Derek pulls in front of a low, dark building. 'Ad Astra, Barina' is scrawled on the side of the building and illuminated with neon. A man in a red vest taps politely on the driver side glass and when Derek nods and shuts the car off, another opens Stiles' door. Derek drops the keys in the valet's hand.   
"Take care." The valet nods and ducks into the Camero while Derek straightens his tie and the entire scene makes Stiles think of a suit ad, or a car ad, or a really hot guy with a cool car in any type of ad. Derek smiles at him.   
"Ready?" Stiles nods.   
"Yeah. But this looks like a place that requires reservations." Derek shakes his head.   
"I got it." Stiles follows him to the front, where there appears to be a line but Derek walks past it without a glance, and the snooty host doesn't even look up.   
"Sir, unless you have a reservation I'm going to have to ask you to go to the back of the line." Derek suddenly looks business-like.   
"My name is Derek Hale." The host quickly looks up.   
"Mr. Hale! I apologize, I'll get you a table for..." Derek motions towards Stiles.   
"Two of us. Thank you." A woman in an elegant black dress rushes over and smiles.   
"Derek! Darling, it's been too long." Derek pulls her in for a short hug.   
"Barina, it's a pleasure to see you again.  How is Dmitri?" The woman laughs and Stiles realizes this must be the 'Barina' of the restaurant.   
"Oh, Dmi is in the kitchen. You know him! I'll get you settled, then pull him out." She leads them to a table. "Here you go Derek!" Derek smiles at the woman and she pulls him in for another hug. "It really is nice to see you, darling." Stiles decides to sit and the movement alerts Barina. "Oh, Derek, your friend is so cute!" Derek and Stiles both blush.   
"Er... Thank you." The woman hugs him.   
"Nice to meet you! What's your name, love?" Stiles grins.   
"Stiles." The woman pinches his cheek.   
"Okay, Stiles, treat my baby well." She departs to the kitchen and Derek and Stiles can finally sit. Barina returns quickly with a jovial, round man with a deep, heavily accented voice.   
"Derek Hale! Back in town?" Stiles looks through the menu and Derek smiles.   
"Just for dinner, Dmi. I'll be home tonight." The man roughly pats Derek's back.   
"No, you're already home!" He notices Stiles nose buried in the menu. "None of that! I'll give you my best dish. On the house!" Derek tries to deflect attention.   
"No, Dmitri. It's okay." The man scoffs.   
"Nonsense! I insist. Barina! Tell the kitchen." Barina plucks the menus from their hands and smiles.   
"We'll return with your dishes. Ciao!" The couple walk away and Stiles stares at Derek in disbelief.   
"Who are you?" Derek shrugs.   
"Derek Hale." Stiles flails his hands around his head.  
"What is this all about?" Derek sighs heavily and stares at his silverware.   
"You commented on my wife..." Stiles nods. "And it hurt because..." Derek takes a breath before he whispers something. Stiles furrows his brow.   
"What?" Derek shifts in his seat.   
"My wife... She ate my soul."


	9. 9 Years in An Evening

Stiles looks at Derek for a minute.  
"What?" Derek half frowns.  
"That was super dramatic, wasn't it?" Stiles nods with his eyes wide and Derek chuckles. "Sorry, I just... I want to tell you about why I got so upset."

* * *

**Year One**  
Kate Argent was _hot_. Like, lava hot, burning sun hot, the _fucking blush_ on Derek's face hot. She was in his AP Mathematics class and when she flipped her hair over her shoulder, nerds died from the scent of herbal essence. Derek thought she smiled a lot, but if he had perfectly even, colgate ad teeth he would smile a lot too. He knew she was held back a couple years, her parents travelled a lot. She asked to borrow a pen once, and Derek almost fainted. She'd batted her long lashes that framed clear green eyes.  
"It's Derek, right?" Derek had nodded and tried to keep his jaw off the floor and his eyes on her face-that was some shirt (and a lot of clevage). "Um, could I borrow a pen?" Derek fumbled with his pencil case but she didn't laugh. When he handed it to her, she smiled even brighter. "Thanks Derek." The way she breathed out his name made him shiver, and when she walked away she swung her hips in her tight Seven jeans. Derek was hooked.

 **Year Two  
** Derek kind of hates Peter. He loves his uncle, really, but when he sees him stop at the high school and Kate gleefully jumps into his car, a sense of "creep" crawls over his skin. He's getting tired of everyone calling Uncle Peter a pedo, but he has to agree with them. Derek's sure Peter is 25, and Kate is only 17. He deals with it though, he doesn't let himself get distracted from his studies by Kate's chest, or Uncle Peter's BMW 325i that picks her up from school. He makes honor roll and Kate drops out of AP Math. He's struggling through his teenage angst and _thisclose_ to being over Kate Argent and her colgate smile, when he goes to get a glas of water in the middle of the night. There's a wierd sound coming from Uncle Peter's room. Derek's too good to watch porn, even at 15, but he's pretty sure that what he's looking at. Uncle Peter has an arm around Kate's naked body as he thrusts into her, his fingers in her mouth to muffled her screams. Her chest bounces freely in front of Derek's eyes and she moans when she comes. Uncle Peter's hips stutter to a stop and Derek realizes he can move his body. He throws himself into the room, fist flying and Kate quickly gets out of the way. The room smells funny and Derek can't see through his tears but Uncle Peter kicks him out of the room.

 **Year Three  
** Derek sees red for the entire year. Kate leaves the high school and Uncle Peter is swiftly kicked out of the house, his old bedroom turned into a home gym. Derek takes advantage of these renovations and when he enters 1oth grade, he has muscles that match his mind. He joins lacrosse-track-football-wrestling-rugby-baseball, he messes around with girls that used to ignore him. He makes honor roll. He keeps bulking up, releasing his stress into weight training and long runs. He still sees Kate around, followed closely by her disapproving parents. Sometimes she smiles at him and it makes his heart clench, but all he remembers is her moans in his Uncle Peter's bed, and he turns away. Derek hits his growth spurt that year, and if girls threw themselves at him before, now they were basicaly appearing at his house naked-some did. Derek hates Peter.

 **Year Four**  
Derek's a god. People tell him all the time, and even if he's been slowly adopting an irritating frat boy swagger that Laura thinks is hilarious, he's still Derek. He can mess around with girls, but he can't talk to them. So when he's sent to the market for a bottle of milk, he doesn't expect to run into Kate. She blushes when she sees him.  
"Derek. Nice to see you." Derek grunts, words are too hard and she's still hot. "What's up?" Derek feels his mouth go dry.  
"Nothing. My Mom needed milk." He lifts the jug awkwardly and she smiles again.  
"I can ring you up." Derek follows her to the register. He watches her for a moment.  
"Why are you still here?" Kate freezes, then fixes him with her smile.  
"I don't know."

 **Year Five**  
Derek gets into Berkley. No one is surprised, he gets a baseball scholarship and his grades are above average. Laura grins and ruffles his hair.   
"My little nerd." Uncle Peter-who has been forgiven-gives him a fist bump.  
"That's my man." His parents smiles at him and the acceptance letter in his hand feel heavy. It's his whole life., it's all he's worked for. Laura nudges his shoulder.  
"I can't believe you didn't apply to Yale. Didn't you want to hang out with your big sister?" Derek rolls his eyes.  
"As if, I don't want to hang out with you." He sticks his tongue out and his Mom laughs.  
"My babies, still babies. I'm so proud of you both." Derek refuses to admit there are tears in his eyes.

 **Year Six**  
Kate goes to Berkley too. She's in Derek's math class and it's deja vu. She's still too hot for this class, and while she's freshman nervous, she has a confidence that shocks everyone. She sits beside Derek, earning him a few dirty looks, and she smiles.  
"OH, thank go, I know someone here." Derek smiles back politely and keeps his eyes off her chest.  
"Yeah. It's nice. Settling in okay?" Kate flips her man of golden hair.  
"It's been great. I can't wait for rush week. I was born to be a sorority girl!" Derek has to agree with her there.  
"What are you studying? Not many degrees need this class." KAte shrugs.  
"I'm just in general studies. But I love math. You?" Derek clears his throat.  
"Engineering." Kate smiles and leans far enough forward that Derek gets an eyeful down her shirt and the scent of mint toothpaste invades his nose.  
"Oh, smarty-pants. I like them smart."

 **Year Seven**  
Derek ran into Kate at a frat party. She was wearing a midriff baring hot pink halter top and tiny shorts. She smelled like cheap beer and expensive perfume.  
"Derek! From math! Want a drink?" She giggled and pressed herself against him until Derek could only stutter.  
"I'm underage." As soon as he said it Kate peeled herself off him.  
"What?" He searched for somewhere else to look-not her boobs!  
"I'm... 20. And a half." His voice is small and he expects Kate to laugh but she returns to his side.  
"No worries. You can drive me home." Derek feels like he needs to explode when she presses sticky lips against him and draws him into her sorority room. 

 **Year Eight**  
Kate's golden hair is dim and stuck to her forehead with sweat. There's a vein on her forehead and Derek kisses it.   
"You're okay, baby, you're okay..." Kate tightens her hold on Derek's fingers and he chokes back a scream. She throws her head back and wails just as another cry pierces the air. The doctor pulls the tiny girl from between Kate's legs and she collapses. Derek eagerly reaches for his daughter and the doctor smiles.  
"Congratulations. It's a girl." Derek holds her above Kate and smiles at them.  
"Kate, she's gorgeous." Kate breathes heavy on the hospital bed.  
"What's her name?" Derek looks at the bright blue eyes peeking out of the scrunched up face.  
"Grey." Kate smiles up at him and closes her eyes. "Kate..." One eye opens. "WIll you marry me?"

 **Year Eight.Five**  
Being married doesn't suit kate. She hates it. Whenever 2 month old Grey cries, or screams, or simply giggles she rolls her eyes and leave sit to Derek. He knows his family hates it, especially Laura who doesn't hide her disdain.  
"Jesus, Derek, what does she do?" Derek shrugs as he feeds Grey Kate's bottled breast milk.  
"It's okay Laura. She's done enough." LAura scoffs.  
"She got drunk, and you knocked her up, and she married you, and is now completely useless." Derek sits silently. "Derek! You need to leave her." Derek shakes his head, Kate's smile in the eight grade coming back to him.  
"I can't. She hasn't done anything wrong." Laura checks that Kate isn't in the house-she never is- and sits beside him.  
"Derek... Kate cheats on you. All the time. She doesn't love you, or Grey. Just leave." Derek sit in the kitchen while Laura takes his silence as agreement. She packs his things, Grey's things and sweeps him back to the Hale house. Kate is not happy. She fights it to the very end, her claws come out and Derek forgets her smiles, all he knows now of Kate is threats and violence. Derek refuses to let her have Grey and the court agrees.

 **Year Nine**  
Laura pats Derek's pat and makes a face at Grey.  
"It's finally over..." Derek presses a kiss to Grey's forehead.  
"Yes. Thank god." Laura reaches and covers Grey's tiny ears.  
"Now that bitch can rot in fucking hell." Derek stays silent and Laura kisses his cheek. "Goodnight Derek." His mother, Ash, heads upstairs after Lauara, wrapping her arms around him and her granddaughter. Grey starts to stir in his arms, and before long she's bawling into the night. Ash looks out the window and motions towards the forest.  
"Take her out, Derek. It used to clam you down." She smiles and disappears up the stairs. Derek rocks Grey for what seems a forever, when he decides to go out. He bundles the 9 month old in blankets and jackets and enters the forest. It's dark, but the sounds of wind rustling through the trees and incests buzzing always calm him down. His heart rate slows and Grey stops crying, her big blue eyes wide in awe and wonder. Derek coos at his daughter.  
"I'm going to give you everything. I love you so much. And you'll have a family that loves you so much, Grey-" As Derek heads towards the house, he's suddenly aware of the heat. The snap of wood in a fire. He holds Grey tight against his chest and sprints out of the forest. His home is already on fire and he searchs for his phone. He cradles Grey in one arm.   
"9-1-1. How can we-"  
"My house is on fire! Please, my family..." A section of the roof snaps off and falls in right where Laura's bedroom is. Derek screams. 

 


	10. Often Awkward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AH! I have returned from a month long hiatus imposed by sports practices and pounds of homework! :) I have gained a spare class (yay!) which means a guaranteed hour and forty-five minutes to write! :) I promise I'll try to put it to good use!

Stiles gapes at Derek.  
"Oh my god, are you okay?” Derek shrugs.  
“It hurts, yeah. But... I can usually handle it. I’m just-it sounds sick-but I’m just so happy Grey never met them. She, she shouldn’t have to bear the weight.” Stiles thinks of Vicky.  
“But Kate, what happened to Kate?” Derek smiles.  
“She got caught. She’s on death row.” Stiles swallows hard.  
“So, no one-”  
“My uncle Peter. They got him out, but he... died later that year.” Stiles absorbs this information slowly, then startles.  
“Wait! Kate Argent? Like Allison Argent?”  
“I don’t think so. I used to live here, in Aspen, and I’ve met Chris and Allison but they didn’t know any other Argents.” Derek moves his pasta around his plate. “ I had to leave, but I couldn’t go too far.”  
“So, you came to Beacon Hills.” Derek nods and runs a hand through his hair.  
“Dmitri and Barina were my parents friends, they wanted me to stay but knew I had to move on. I quit Berkley and I joined the Beacon Hill firefighters. I left my family home in a mountain of ash.” Stiles can feel tears pricking at his eyes and he reaches for Derek’s hand. He doesn’t say anything, he just gives a slight squeeze. They’ve finished their meal and Dmitri and Barina say goodbye with tears and kisses. Barina caresses Derek’s cheek in a motherly way.  
“Don’t be a stranger, Derek! Do come visit more often. We miss you.” Derek catches her hand and kisses it.  
“I’ll try Barina. Dmi!” The round man pulls Derek in for a hug.  
“Listen to Barina, Derek. Come often! And bring your friend too.” The couple smile fondly at Stiles and he swears there’s a blush on Derek’s cheeks.  
“I’ll try, Dmi. But we have to get back.” They wave until Derek speeds out of the parking lot.

Stacy the babysitter does not look happy when Derek and Stiles emerge from the basement garage door. In fact, she's wielding a baseball bat that Derek ducks to avoid. Her clear blue eyes widen almost comically.  
"Mr. Hale! I'm so sorry!" Derek smiles.  
"Don't be. It's nice to see I left Grey with someone capable of attacking intruders fearlessly." Stacy blushed and lowers the bat.  
"Ah, well... I hope you had a nice night." Her eyes dart to Stiles and Derek reaches for his wallet.  
"I did, thank you. Grey's asleep?" She nods. "Alright. Thanks again, Stacy. Do you need a ride home?" She shakes her head and takes the wad of bill offered to her.  
"I can walk home. It's not even 10 yet. Thank you, Mr. Hale." She slips out the door and Derek turns to Stiles.  
"I'm gonna check on Grey. Make yourself at home." Stiles smiles and Derek jogs up the stairs. When his footsteps fade, Stiles finds the kitchen and a glass from the cupboard. He's just taking a drink when Derek appears in the doorway and Stiles chokes on his water. Derek's slapping him on the back and he's coughing violently into the sink, when Derek starts laughing. Then Stiles realizes how close they are, Derek's laugh caresses the back of his neck and his strong arms are almost encircling him. And Stiles barely suppressed a mewl.  
"Are you alright, Stiles?" Stiles nods and turns..  
"Yeah. Yeah, I do this all th-" Stiles kind of forgot he and Derek were basically the same height. Forgot so bad that when he turns, their noses brush and their breath ghosts over each other's lips. But Stiles really feels like a twink when Derek takes the initiative and kisses him. It's soft and warm and Stiles see fireworks and a national holiday being declared for this man's mouth, oh god. Derek pulls back to take a breath and Stiles grins like he's drunk.  
"Want to come to a party?" Derek smirks.  
"Hell yes." He kisses Stiles again, and while Stiles kind of wants to protest and clarify himself, he really doesn't give a damn.

Stiles still feels like his body is on fire the next day, even when Chris brings Vicky and Caleb back home. He’s praying no one can tell why he’s so flushed and flustered, but Melissa-damn her-keeps shooting him little knowing looks across the room. She finally corners him in the kitchen.  
“How was your date?”  
“What? What date? Who told you?” Stiles almost drops the glasses he was going to set the table with and Melissa steadies his hand.  
“One, you know what. Two, yes a date which answers the first question. Three, Erica, And four, you’re an awfully guilty person for nothing to have happened. So, tell.” Stiles whimpers.  
“What are you?”  
“I’m a mom.” Stiles ignored the shade of despair that clouds her eyes for a second, and instead focuses on her cocky smile.  
“Mel...” She raises an eyebrow. “Okay, but don’t tell Erica...”  
Stiles really shouldn’t be surprised when Erica attacks him in his office on Monday.  
“He kissed you?!” She gleefully squeals and Stile mentally curses himself for being surrounded by women.  
“Yeah. And Mel said she wouldn’t tell.” Erica smirks.  
“Whatever. Was it hot? Did he use tongue? Would you be pregnant right now if you were a chick?”  
“Yes, no, and NO, Erica... C’mon...” Stiles motions towards his pile of paperwork to slug though and Erica pouts.  
“Fine. I’ll see you this weekend though. Remember to bring the lasagna!” Stiles stick his tongue out and Erica finally leaves his office. He’s 3 hours into the pile and only 2 accounts in when he remembers his hastily made invitation to Derek. He pages Erica in her office across the hall.  
“What, loser?”  
“I might have invited Derek to our party this weekend...” She hangs up quickly and Stiles can see when she throws her office door open and begins to harass some poor secretary. He can’t resist smirking, but scrambles to lock his door when Erica stalks over to his office.  
“Stiles! He better fuc-” She warily eyes the rest of the already terrified office staff. “He better bring something to eat!” Stiles leans heavy on his door and laughs.  
“I’ll call him.”

“Thank you for inviting us, Mr. Stiles. Daddy brought potato salad.” Derek smiles and hold the container out.  
“Please don’t let this one drop out of the fridge.” Stiles blushes red and Erica comes around the corner.  
“Grey! Sweetheart, the other kids are in the backyard.” She points through her house and Grey immediately moves, then she stops.  
“Daddy, may I?” Derek nods and Grey sprints to the back of the house. Erica swing back to Derek, hands on her hips.  
“Derek. Nice to have you over, welcome to my home.” She swiftly takes the container and heads for the kitchen, an unspoken command to follow her understood by both men. She sets the dish on the counter and turns to them with a smile. Stiles feels his heart drop before she even opens her mouth.  
“So, Derek, what does Stiles’ mouth taste like?” Stiles flails and accidentally hits the dish, which then hits the floor with a crash. Derek looks at the bowl and shakes his head.  
“It tasted like he owes me one.” Erica cocks an eyebrow as Stiles desperately tries to clean up the mess.  
“If you’re talking about dishes, I think he owes you two.” Stiles has most of the potato salad scooped into his hands and he carries it to the sink. He can feel Derek’s eyes burning into him from behind.  
“No. He owes me another date.” Stiles all but faints into the sink. And he drops potato all over the floor. Erica whistles and her Tamaskan Dog, Kulta, trots in. She points mess on the floor and Kulta happily laps it up off the floor.  
"Good for you. He's a keeper."


	11. 11th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW. FINALLY. A CHAPTER!

Stiles carefully ices the chocolate cake on the kitchen counter. His tongue sticks out from the left side of his mouth, eyes squinted in concentration, and his Dad rolls his eyes when he enters the kitchen.  
"Don't hurt yourself." Melissa playfully smacks her husband and Stiles shoots his mostly beloved father a glare and adds the final '1'. His Dad steals a beer from the fridge and the couple peeks over his shoulder.  
"Hard to believe he's already 11. Feel old yet?" Stiles elbows his Dad just as the doorbell rings. He can hear Vicky clomp down the stairs, trailed by Penny and Selene. The bell rings again and Vicky opens the door.  
"Stiles! Isaac and Danny are here!" Toby's voice rings out.  
"Where's Cal?"  
"I'm here!" Cal can be heard in the basement and when Stiles has dried his hands, he heads to the door to find Cal eagerly grabbing Toby's hand. Toby blushes, and Isaac and Danny exchange a look.  
"Wanna play PS3 downstairs?" Toby nods and they race off. Melissa follows to supervise and Stiles yells after them.  
"I'll send the rest of your friends down when they get here!"  
"Thank you, Uncle Stiles!"  
The children begin to arrive in droves and Stiles leaves his Dad on door duty while he finishes cooking. Mr. Argent arrives quickly and becomes the second greeter. The house is filled with screaming 11 year olds and the palpable disdain of the 16 year old girls sitting in the kitchen. Penny flips her red hair.  
"Stiles, you need to _beat_ the eggs, not _mix_ them." Stiles doesn't even feel bad about rolling his eyes at the teenager.  
"You are definitely Lydia's kid." Stiles tries to make it look like he's not following her direction, but she smirks as he beats the eggs. The door bell rings. And rings. And rings.  
"Dad! Get the door!" Silence greets him, then a squeal of joy from one of the children and his father and Mr. Argent’s laughter.  
"Mr. John! Do it again!" Stiles rolls his eyes and turns to Vicky.  
"Vic-"  
"Stiles! It's Tori!" Stiles mentally curses the ceiling.  
"Jesus... _Tori_ can you get the door?" Vic- _Tori_ sniffs but she does leave the kitchen. Stiles can hear the smile in her voice as she greets Declan and Grey-her style icon-at the door.  
"Grey! Declan! Hey, Grey, like my dress?" Tori twirls and Grey laughs.  
"Yeah, Vicky, you look great!" Stiles glares as they enter the kitchen.  
"So, she can call you Vicky?" Grey smiles and releases Declan's hand.  
"Stiles! How are you?"  
"Great. I've cooked more today than ever in my life." Stiles adjusts his apron, a stain patterned plaid with lace on the pockets and Grey snorts.  
"Really? Because Dad loves your cooking." She winks and Stiles blushes.  
"Dec, are your parents coming?" Declan sets 3 wrapped boxes on the table and says hi to his sister and Penny.  
"They're on their way. Last I heard they were trying to get Liam to but his pants on." Stiles laughs at the thought of Boyd and Erica's surprise third child, 5 year old Liam filled with all the assertive silence of Boyd and the rebellious attitude of Erica.  
“Of course they were... He’s going to be the death of them.” Declan chuckles almost like Boyd would and the doorbell rings again. Grey heads for the door, and soon Lydia and Jackson and their very welcomed giant bottle of wine arrive in Stiles’ kitchen.  
“Oh, wine! You didn’t say you were bringing guests.” Stiles lovingly caresses the bottle and Tori rolls her eyes. Jackson rolls his too.  
“Stop being weird, Stilinkski. I can’t believe my daughter spends all her time here.” Penny glares at her Dad for a second, then flips her hair. Lydia hovers over Stiles’ mess in the kitchen.  
“Stiles, did you beat these eggs? They look _mixed_.” Stiles groans as the doorbell rings. Tori sighs heavily.  
“How many people did you let Cal invite? God...” She trudges off to the door and Stiles’ ears are attuned to that particular deep rumble of a voice-it makes him want to fix his hair and check his outfit-and Derek walks into the kitchen. He grins at Stiles then wraps him into his arms.  
“Hey.”  
“Hi.”  
“Nice apron, Martha Stewart.”

As much as Stiles loves screaming children, he thanks God that they easily tire after a few hours of games and a few slices of cake. He also thanks parents for arriving on time to pick their demonic kids up from his house. By the end of the night, only family remains. Declan and Grey cuddle on the couch, the girls have disappeared into Tori’s room, Cal and Toby settle in front of the TV with the company of their grandparents, John, Melissa, and Chris, Liam is asleep on Erica, who is asleep on Boyd, who is asleep, while Lydia and Jackson nurse their drinks. Stiles smiles at the ceiling. Are you proud of me, Scott? Are you proud of your children. They’re lovely, I love them. Thank you, Scott. Thank you, Allison. Derek’s strong arms wrap around his waist and he presses his lips to Stiles’ cheek.  
“What are you thinking about?”  
“Scott. Allison. Love.” Derek rests his chin on Stiles’ shoulder and his breath ghosts past his ear.  
“They’d be so proud of you, Stiles. I know they would.” Stiles smiles at Cal’s back and his nephew begins to droop.  
“Alright, Caleb, happy birthday and all, but you’re passing out on me, man...” Cal pouts.  
“Uncle Stiles...” He begins to whine and Toby quickly grabs his hand.  
“Dad and Papa said I can sleep over!” Cal’s protests die on his lips and he beams. Stiles shrugs and the boys race to the bath upstairs. Tori clomps down the stairs a few minutes later.  
“Stiles! How come Toby gets to sleep over and Pen-” Stiles glances over at Lydia, who is already nodding, and Boyd has woken up enough to kind of agree. Stiles shrugs again.  
“Whatever. They can stay too.” Tori’’s apathetic teenage face brightens.  
“Thanks, Uncle Stiles!” She returns upstairs and there are squeals of joy. Boyd shifts slightly and Erica yawns.  
“Great party, Stiles. Got to get Liam home though.” Stiles smiles as she switches Liam to her other shoulder and rubs at her eyes. Boyd takes his magically still sleeping son from her and they stand.  
“Thanks for coming. See you at work.” They mutter goodbye’s at depart. Lydia and Jackson follow them out, leaving thanks for taking their daughter overnight. And Stiles has to shudder at the look he catches Lydia throwing Jackson, there’s only one reason married couples want their kids out of their house. Stiles stretches out of Derek’s arms and covers the now snoring last couple on the couch. Melissa beckons for him to follow her into the kitchen.  
“Alright, Stiles, your Dad and I have things under control here. Spend some time with Derek.” Stiles squints in confusion.  
“It’s like, 11 at night.” Melissa winks. “Oh, god, gross... Thanks.”

It’s not surprisingly easy to get Derek to follow him outside and even easier to tell him what’s happening. Stiles imagines this is what high school should have been like as Derek paws at his clothes in the back of his Camaro and fumbles with the zipper. Stiles laughes into his mouth when they kiss and Derek pulls back.  
“What?”He almost looks hurt and Stiles runs his thin fingers through Derek’s messy hair.  
“Every time is like the first time with you, and it’s been years. All we’re missing here is the false pretense of going to a drive-in theatre.” Derek smirks and pulls back.  
“Hey, I can slow down...” He noses along Stiles’ neck, his large, hot hands trailing down and slipping into Stiles’ age inappropriate batman boxers. He grasps Stiles and he bucks up into him.  
“Jesus... This is not what I meant but-” Derek licks Stiles’ neck and gives a sharp tug on his hardness. “OKAY. This is what I meant!” They continue like this for god knows how long and just as Stiles’ is thrusting into Derek’s hand for his climax, Derek’s hand goes slack. Stiles flails and swears when Derek pulls back and grins.  
“I’m sure my bed is more comfortable than this... We should wait.” Stiles makes a noise in this throat.  
“Dude! You live like, 20 minutes away!” Derek smirks.  
“Can’t wait for a good thing?” Stiles ruts against his own palm the whole way there, careful not to go too hard after a thinly veiled threat from Derek and when they stop in front of the secluded home in the forest, Stiles heaves a sigh of relief. Derek smiles so wide his canines glint in the moonlight and they quickly get out of the Camaro. There’s no time wasted to dart up the stairs once inside and Stiles has barely made it through the door before he’s frantically trying to get his pants off. Derek stops him with a deep kiss before he casually sits on the bed.  
“No. Slower.” Stiles rolls his eyes and continues at his desired pace. “Stiles.” Stiles freezes, his amber eyes meeting silver. “Slower.” Stiles keeps his eyes fixed on Derek’s while he slowly undoes his belt and slides his jeans off his narrow hips, his slender, long legs, He pauses then, jeans pooled at his ankles, to tug his t-shirt up and over his head is a fluid motion. The eye contact is broken and Stiles finds himself focused on the growing tent in Derek’s slacks. He steps out of his jeans and wanders over to the bed.  
“And what a shame, to have a such a man so fully dressed.” He touches Derek’s shoulder, and nearly explodes with bliss as Derek throws him over his shoulder onto the soft blankets of his bed. He is seriously checking himself for cardiac arrest when Derek begins to strip. Firefighter calendars weren’t lying about muscle definition.  
Stiles keens into the pillow, bites it, screams. Thank god for seclusion and thick forest, Derek’s weight presses along his back as he thrusts into him, long and deep, sweaty. Derek stomach muscles twitch along his back as he comes, striping the back of Stiles’ thighs and continuing to pull at Stiles’ painfully close to climax cock. Stiles’ comes with a prayer of Derek’s name and Derek kisses his slick shoulder.

“I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well... only one chapter left to write! >.


	12. Midnight

Derek has a lot of champagne glasses. And not a pair match, much to Stiles' chariagn. Grey wanders past the kitchen on the hunt for her toddler, Ash, and Stiles groans.  
"How have your father and I been dating for 15 years, and I never knew he didn't own a set of matching glasses?!" Grey shrugs.  
"Its always been like that. And we always entertain at Grandpa's house." Stiles flails.  
"It's my house too! And that's an awful excuse." The distinct sound of a baby crying bellows through the log house and Stiles points moodily down the hall, Grey throws him a grateful look and rushes to her daughter. Stiles stares at the mismatched glasses with a huff.  
"Dammit, Derek..."

"You called?" His furry eyebrows wiggle seductively and Stiles shakes his head.  
"No, that's not going to work! You're a grown man with no matching glasses!" Derek shrugs.  
"We always entertain at your Dad's place."  
"Why do you think that's a valid excuse?! _And it's my house too!_ " Derek kisses Stiles' worry-wrinkled brow.  
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Stiles pulls away from his boyfriend and rolls his eyes.  
"Thanks. Now get an apron or get out. I need to cook for a million people."  
"There are only 30 of us, Martha Stewart."  
" _Only 30_ , he says, like I'm a catering service. And we don't eat like it." Derek rolls his eyes and reaches for an apron. "And that's _still not funny_!"

Chris arrives first, bearing potato salad and Tori kisses his cheek.  
"Thanks Grandpa!" Stiles points viciously with a whisk.  
"I thought you were going to make the potato salad, Tor." Tori shrugs and shares a secretive wink with Chris.  
"Nope. I said you'd get potato salad." She leaves it in the fridge and disappears, Cal rushes in.

"Grandpa, wanna play COD?" Chris shrugs, and follows him out. Stiles rolls his eyes and returns to beating his eggs. Derek curses under his breath behind him and Stiles turns.  
"You okay?" He catches sight of the macaroni-completely soggy and melted in the pot-and screams, "Is the macaroni okay?!" Derek rolls his eyes and steps away from the stove.  
"Glad you care so much about me, Stiles." Stiles playfully bats at him with the whisk.  
"Get out of here, before you lose a finger or something..." Derek quickly hands over his apron and runs from the kitchen. 

Stiles hate-loves his entire family. They aren't all blood related, but they still treat each other like crap-true family. Love keeps giving, and giving, and giving-resulting in six sets of grandparents/great grandparents for 8 children from 5 couples- and over fifty dirty dishes that Stiles swears up and down that he's not washing. Eventually, Tori rolls her eyes and convinces Selene and Penny to help her with the dishwasher. Cal and Toby eagerly offer to help, while Ash and Liam take their late naps. The adults drink their wine and coffee, and Chris-Stiles had moved past "Mr. Argent" years ago-was the first to suggest the move out to Derek's wrap-around porch. After gathering blankets to fend off the December cold, they all stepped out to the glittering snow under the moonlight. The trees were blanketed with snow, the soft landings of winter songbirds shaking mini-storms from their leafless limbs. Melissa leans against John and her breath hangs in the air.

"It's so beautiful." John kisses her cheek.  
"I could stay out here forever." 10 minutes later, Tori stomps outside.  
"You guys know it's like, half an hour until midnight, right?" Erica rolls her eyes at her niece.  
"Thanks, honey. Not like it's just pretty out here." Boyd's voice rumbles after.  
"Scott and Allison would have loved this. They liked snowball fights. At night. It was their thing." Tori falls silent, think over the stories she'd heard over the course of her life, matching pictures to moments, faces to names.  
"I know. I like it too." Chris pulls his granddaughter close and Stiles could almost mistake them for Allison and her Dad. She let's him rub comfortingly at her back until she straightens. "Okay. Inside." She hustles them back indoors, and Derek lights the fireplace. Stiles snuggles against him when they recline in the couch and Derek runs his fingers through Stiles' shaggy hair.

"I remember when we met. You had a buzzcut and a dumb smile." Stiles fake pouts.  
"What does that mean?"  
"It means your hair is longer now." Stiles jabs him in the gut with a slender finger. "Ow! Kidding, kidding.” Stiles stares into the flames, licking at the edges of wood, and Derek shifts under him. They stay like that for awhile, Erica falling asleep after whispering-yelling at Boyd to not let her miss the New Year. Issac and Danny are Eskimo kissing in the corner, John and Melissa sneak back outside like a couple of teenagers, and Jackson runs his hand through Lydia’s hair. Derek shifts again and Stiles rolls his eyes and slides off his boyfriend’s lap. Derek grabs his hand.

“You... I've known you for 15 years. I've loved you for 15 years, Stiles. We raised 3 children together, in 2 separate houses, but we've loved for fifteen years." Stiles curses his blush as it creeps up his neck and fully blooms on his cheeks, Derek’s eyes follow it up and met his caramel eyes. “I love you, Stiles.” Stiles feels a little tingly, despite the number of times he’s heard those words from Derek. After sex, after arguments, before he leaves for fire duty, while making dinner. And they always make him shiver, a little tremble of a newly sprouted bud after a sun shower. Stiles smiles.  
“I love you too, sourface.” Tori squeals somewhere in the house, and she, Caleb, Penny, Toby, and Selene race into the living room.

“Stiles! It’s almost midnight!” Boyd wakes Erica, and Stiles rushes to refill the champagne glasses-can’t miss the midnight toast. Liam and Ash are roused from their sleep and carried, bleary-eyed, out to the deck, where John and Melissa are already hugging at the rail. Selene does her head count, and Penny starts the countdown.  
“10! 9! 8! 7! 6!” Liam starts to clap his hands, slightly offbeat and Ash stares at him.  
“5!”  
“4!”  
“3!” Something touches Stiles hand and he looks down to find Derek’s fingers intertwined with his.  
“2!”  
“1!”  
“Happy New Year! 2014!”

The champagne glasses crash together and they all quickly take a sip. Jackson has Lydia off her feet as he kisses her, their champagne glasses up. John kisses Melissa’s cheek as she laughs, and Erica and Boyd each kiss on of Liam’s chubby cheeks. Issac and Danny share their signature shy kiss and a long hug, hands tight on each other's sweater. Grey and Declan help Ash wave her pudgy hands around and kiss her tiny fingers as she giggles. Penny, Selene, and Tori kiss each other’s cheeks and Cal and Toby shyly clink glasses.  
Stiles turns to Derek with a smile  
“Where’s my ki-Derek?” Stiles turns carefully. “Derek?” There are footsteps leading off the deck, crisp in the fresh now, and roughly the size of Derek’s feet. “Oh, dude, not cool.” Stiles is about to follow them into the yard when Derek’s arms wrap around his waist.  
“What’s not cool?”  
“You left me hanging, man! My lonely lips...” Stiles kisses meekly at the air and Derek snorts behind him.  
“I’m sorry, Martha. Forgive me.” Stiles squirms out of Derek’s grasp and rolls his eyes.  
“I’m not even wearing an apron.” Derek smiles and he looks almost dangerous in the dim light.

“Can you just give me a minute?” Stiles scoffs and raises an eyebrow. “Thanks, Mar-”  
“Don’t...” Derek chuckles and looks at Tori, who gives him a ‘go-on’ hand wave.  
“Stiles Stilinski...” Derek lowers himself to one knee, with a tiny box. “Will you marry me?” Stiles doesn’t feel as much as hear the champagne glass in his hand fall from his fingers. The shatter almost echos in his head and twinkles like the faint stars in the midnight blue sky, and he looks up at them He thanks the ones he thinks are Scott and Allison.  
“Stiles?”  
“Oh my god, yes!” Lydia starts the applause, and Derek slips the titanium and onyx band onto his finger. Stiles lets himself be smothered in a hug and Derek laughs into his ear.  
“That was my only glass like that.” Stiles snorts.  
“Yeah, I totally owe you one.” Derek kisses his temple.

  
“I’m counting on it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD. Finally, I have completed the story. I know, with the time jumps it's short, but I needed to finish it. Maybe I'll write some filler chapters, to make the jumps seem less long :) BUT THANKS FOR STILL READING EVEN THOUGH I LEFT YOU HANGING FOR A MONTH. <3


End file.
